The Promise of Us (Sanctuary Sound #2) - Jamie Beck Page 0,20

grateful for the sugar rush and book discussion that should sweep the Prescott siblings from her thoughts for a while.

“What did I miss when I went to the kitchen?” Pat settled her well-padded behind on the wingback chair.

“Not much.” Betsy licked her finger after using it to push some of the dessert onto her plate. “Claire isn’t in a sharing mood, even though I heard Logan offer her a job. One she turned down. Call me crazy, but if I had a chance to spend time with that fine-looking man, I’d take it. He wouldn’t even need to pay me.” She cackled, and Pat and Naomi sniggered along with her.

“If I were a few decades younger, I’d fight you for him.” Pat added a dollop of the cream to her plate, then turned to Claire. “Honey, please tell me you aren’t passing on a job opportunity because of Peyton.”

“It’s not just that . . . ,” Claire replied through a mouthful of berries and crust. Deep down she knew she should take that job. The commission would go a long way to fixing the company’s financial trouble, and the job itself would give her a kind of creative challenge and freedom she’d rarely get around here. “The job’s not practical. It’s in New York—almost two hours each way. And we all know he’s trying to buy my forgiveness for his sister. I won’t be manipulated by another Prescott.”

Betsy elbowed Naomi. “I’d let him manipulate me, if you get my drift.”

“We all get your drift, Betsy,” Naomi muttered. “Claire, I respect your integrity.”

“Thank you, Naomi.” One supporter was better than none, she supposed.

“Listen up,” Pat instructed. “I’m the oldest, which makes me the wisest. Who cares about his agenda? Think about your goals, and do whatever is needed to keep your business going. Tell him straight up there won’t be a quid pro quo where his sister’s concerned, but take the job. Refusing it because of Peyton isn’t integrity, it’s fear. And, honestly, you’re better off without a weak, faithless man like Todd, so maybe you should be thanking her instead of holding a grudge.”

“Thank her?” Claire choked before she dropped her gaze to the bottle of Armagnac, which she might actually be willing to toss back now. Might need, even, to get through the night.

“I heard Todd skedaddled as soon as she got sick. He left you, he left her . . .” Pat fluttered her hand in the air. “Who knows how much time you would’ve wasted on that guy had Peyton not been the one that got him to show his true colors? Now you’re free to find a good guy.”

“It’s not much fun being free in a town where there aren’t many available men,” Betsy moaned. “Ben Lockwood’s cute, though. Why don’t you date him?”

“He’s like my brother,” Claire said.

“Logan’s available.” Naomi shrugged. “Never heard a mean word about him, and he’s got that sexy artistic thing going for him.”

“Logan Prescott goes through women faster than I inhale a sleeve of Oreos.” Claire set her empty plate on the table for emphasis. It’d taken months for the ache of losing Todd to go away. If she ever let herself get close to Logan, she’d never recover when he left her. And it would be when, not if. Logan didn’t settle down. Not for anyone. “Let’s please change the subject and talk about the book.”

“Fair enough,” Pat conceded. “I don’t know about all of you, but the descriptions riveted me. It might sound crazy, but I think we should take an Alaskan cruise.”

The others began to chatter excitedly about that fantasy, while Claire spent the next few moments talking herself down. Pat had a fair point about taking the job. Logan couldn’t force Claire to talk to Peyton, and she’d been clear that she wouldn’t be pressured.

If he wanted to take the gamble and pay her, why shouldn’t she profit off his misguided loyalty? Claire could avoid the transit and work off architectural drawings and photographs. Visions of racks of Scalamandré fabric and shelves of trendy home accessories danced before her.

And, after years of wondering about where Logan lived, she’d finally learn every nook and cranny. She could make it a true home for him. Pick the fabrics, the styles, his bedding . . .

Therein lay the only real danger—the risk to her heart. Rationally, she knew she had no future with Logan, but working closely with him could make that hard to forget. Make her miss him